Abercrombie & Fitch's sales are in a downward spiral. How could once-leading teen retailer struggle to compete with fast-fashion brands like Forever 21 and
H&M? With the new strategy includes scaling back on logos and spraying less of its Fierce cologne in its stores, Abercrombie still continues to struggle.
What clothing stores would you choose to shop among Abercrombie & Fitch, H&M and Forever 21? What is your suggestion for Abercrombie & Fitch to improve their sales?
I think the author stated the point excellently, Abercrombie has failed to adjust to the changing market and is suffering as a result. Today's teens are shopping differently than previous generations and stores need to adjust prices and products accordingly. I think that Abercrombie has too large a following as a teen dress style to move into designer clothes so if they want to stay relevant they should focus on lowering prices to compete with other mall stores. While personally I don't shop at any of the mentioned stores, I would strongly prefer to have a purchase a multitude of cheaper clothing items compared to one fancy faux fur coat or other more luxurious item.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Scott. I think Abercrombie needs to adjust its image and lower prices in order to stay competitive. I think Abercrombie has developed a negative stigma of having dark stores with overpower cologne smell everywhere. I think their performance would improve if they turned the lights on.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I agree that it is as simple as a lack of adjustments in time. They used their business as a cash cow, then all of a sudden they realize their profits have completely disappeared. Other companies slowly chipped away with lower prices and new styles. Abercrombie played it safe and never put out new trend setting clothing. In the fashion industry, this is the worst thing to do. Pushing the envelope and changing styles are the only way to stay alive. Abercrombie is trying to do too much too late. The majority of their previous customers have grown up and current fashion trends do not favor them. I have been waiting for them to change how they market themselves and this plan does not win me over.
ReplyDeleteSomeone the other day said that the life cycle for the average tennis shoe is about six weeks because at that point it is no longer in style. This applies to Abercrombie because it's still producing a style that is no longer to date. In addition, these out of trend clothes are also accompanied with rather expensive price tags. Furthermore, the brand has a negative connotation due to marketing the brand has done as for the ideal person to wear its clothes. To increase sales, Abercrombie must reinvent itself and address the following issues.
ReplyDeleteMoreover, past comments (1-2 years ago) from Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries drove Abercrombie's public image to an all time low. To me this seems to be an upper management issue and I'm not sure if Jeffries is capable to handle it. Abercrombie is no stranger to complete fashion change, as it was once an sporting goods outfitter. Whether they lower their prices or stay premium priced isn't so much the issue as how they decide to change their fashion line, as highly priced dirty ripped jeans, logo dominated polos, cologne you can smell a mile away aren't necessarily in style. Abercrombie needs to either make their clothing acceptable for their prices, or reduce their product costs and prices, for less bold clothing.
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